En esta audio entrevista de EQ Music Dido habla de la nueva canción 'NYC', sobre ‘Sitting On The Roof Of The World’ del disco 'Girl Who Got Away'. Pero tambiíén sobre los fans dentro de la nueva industria musical, el casting de David Boreanaz para el videoclip de 'White Flag' y Dido da un consejo a las futuras cantantes que buscan hacerse un hueco en la música.
She is a personal diarist with mass appeal, like Bridget Jones with a microphone.Dido burst onto the music scene in 1999 when she released No Angel and shot to fame in the US when her Thank You vocals were featured on Eminem's hit single Stan.And now the singer, who won the MTV EMA award for best new act in 2001, is releasing her Greatest Hits album.The 41-year-old singer ( who looks AT LEAST ten years younger than that in the flesh) told 3AM that she believes White Flag is her greatest hit - the song she's proudest of."What else can we expect from the album?" we asked her."There's new stuff, old stuff," she says."It was definitely a personal thing. A lot of people had a lot of opinions about what should go on there and I was like, 'Do you know what? It's my album.' I'm not listening to you."The star made a comeback on stage with Eminem at Reading festival earlier this year and said it was the highlight of her summer.We asked her if she had any plans to collaborate with anyone else."I think always. There's always things that you want to do.""It's not like I've got a wishlist but things come up and you think, 'You know what, this would be perfect.'"The singer also says she's in the middle of making a new record."I never put stuff out that I don't like," she explains."I'm just way more confident now and I know what my strengths are," she added.Dido's Greatest Hits album out on the 25th November.Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/dido-makes-comeback-greatest-hits-2809477#ixzz2mKtkbGh4
Ultimately, Dido believes her upcoming collection of songs is "the crazy diary of my life" rather than a greatest hits record.Dido's Greatest Hits, available on November 25 through RCA Records in standard and deluxe editions, covers almost 15 years, beginning in 1999 with the release of No Angel.That and her three other studio albums, including last March's Girl Who Got Away, are nicely represented on this 18-song compilation, along with treats such as the Academy Award-nominated "If I Rise" (with A.R. Rahman) and "NYC," a lively new dance track that was released in October.Eminem's "Stan," the rap single that put the UK woman who only needs one name on the U.S. map thanks to her sample of "Thank You," is also there, signifying the start of a remarkable global adventure.The deluxe edition adds 13 remixes of some of her most popular songs, including a previously unreleased version of "White Flag (Timbaland Remix)."Such examples provide proof that she was destined for greatness, yet during an overseas phone conversation last week, the lovely Londoner almost seemed embarrassed to attach superlatives to her work."Nice question," Dido said in a playful tone ranging somewhere between sweet and sarcastic when asked what makes this particular collection of songs great."It's not something that I would have suggested doing," she explained softly. "I didn't wake up one morning and think, 'Oh, I'm going to do a greatest hits album.' It never even crossed my mind."After Sony approached her with the idea, Dido said she still was in the middle of making Girl Who Got Away and needed some time to consider it."And I thought as long as I can put together something that I truly love, that feels like a proper celebration of the last 15 years," there would be enough hours in the day to make it happen. Even for a Great Brit who's balancing being a wife-mother-daughter-sister-singer-songwriter.Not that she needs a career validation, but perhaps Greatest Hits will serve as a gentle reminder of what Dido has quietly but skillfully accomplished since bursting on the scene.The effortless grace of her understated vocals blend splendidly with the powerfully personal nature of her lyrics. Of course, the cool chanteuse who for years was cranking out platinum records and imaginative but tasteful videos without a wrecking ball or sledgehammer in sight doesn't mind some controlled chaos in her life.The seasoned performer who plays various instruments, including guitar, keyboards, recorder and drums, enhances her sound with electronica dance beats, propulsive bass lines and impassioned collaborations with artists ranging from Eminem to Kendrick Lamar.The winner of the MTV Europe Music Award for best new act in 2001 didn't watch the EMA's earlier this month, when Miley Cyrus' latest publicity stunt went up in smoke, but still was curious enough to ask if it was a good show."I think it's quite an exciting time," Dido said of today's pop music scene, too classy to diss anyone. "I like that people can put things out any which way. It's not necessarily a whole album. It's just sort of various collaborations and I think there's a lot of good stuff around."Saying she's discovering new things everyday, Dido at the moment is raving about electronic act Pete Lawrie Winfield (under the guise of Until the Ribbon Breaks), recent albums by London Grammar (If You Wait) and Lorde (Pure Heroine), then added, "I actually downloaded the Eminem album (The Marshall Mathers LP 2) a couple of days ago; I'm really enjoying that."Still, Dido remains a romantic throwback of sorts who still listens to music on the radio, influencing audiophiles who yearn for the days or yore before tell-all books and viral videos captured boys (and girls) behaving badly.Simply put, she's told, the beauty of her music lies in the beauty of her music."I mean, yeah, it's sort of all I've got, really," she modestly said with a laugh, remembering when people thought Dido was the name of a Swedish band. "But I mean that's what I love. ... Back then, we didn't have to know each other quite so well. It was like, 'I just like this music and I don't care if I don't know anything about this person's life.'"I think one of the reasons that someone like Adele resonates so much with people is that actually we don't know much about her life. And I think that's great. And it means that you listen to her songs and you make them your own."Having sold more than 29 million albums, Dido has plenty of listeners worldwide. And though she said she's pleased with the response to Girl Who Got Away, her first studio album in five years after taking some time off to start a family, it only remained on the Billboard 200 charts for three weeks, peaking at No. 32. By comparison, her second album, Life For Rent, peaked at No. 4 and was on the list for 47 weeks.In a world where fickle fans often ask -- "What have you done for me lately?" -- career interruptus might be an artist's biggest fear.Being out of the limelight for so long would scare almost anyone who craves attention. But Dido didn't give it a second thought."It's not like I'm trying to hang on to anything, if that makes sense," she said, deciding to hold off on a "full-blown around-the-globe tour" until she completes her next record "hopefully" next year. "Like, you know, all I'm ever trying to do is make music and put it out there and it's there for people if they want to hear it. But I'm not feeling like a desperate need to hang on to a certain level of fame or anything like that."Dido was more disappointed with the lukewarm reaction to 2008's mostly overlooked Safe Trip Home, the album she co-produced with Jon Brion that features Mick Fleetwood (drums), Brian Eno (keyboards) and her co-songwriting brother, Rollo Armstrong. The timing seemed right to press pause and make family a priority."I put my heart and soul into that record," she said without a tinge of bitterness. "And pretty much no one's heard it, which is fine, and it's sort of there to be heard one day."Personally, she considers "Grafton Street" her most meaningful song "by far," written just after the 2006 death of her 68-year-old father, William O'Malley Armstrong, who had spent 10 years in the hospital.No more trips to Grafton StreetNo more going thereTo see you lying stillWhile we all come and go" 'Grafton Street' still could make me cry," she said. "I'm not a big crier but if I was feeling vulnerable, that one definitely could. ..."My whole life was sort of built around visiting him in the hospital and then getting on a plane and going and doing a show and then coming back and visiting the hospital," she said. "You know, we spent so much time together. We had these amazing times, even though the hospital was this really dark place. We had amazing times in that room. And it's sort of a song about, wow, actually really missing being with you in this place."Admittedly, though, this "very, very honest" song "was quite hard to sing live," Dido said. "And I hadn't really thought it through, you know. And a lot of that album was very dark and quite hard to do live. Of course, I didn't really want to do a big tour on that particular record. And that's when I thought I'd disappear from view a little bit.""Grafton Street" and "Quiet Times," also from from Safe Trip Home, "were some of the best songs I've ever written," she said. "And they don't get their moment in the sun."Yet the ever resourceful entrepreneur decided to give them -- and listeners -- a second chance by including both in the Greatest Hits package.When she finally committed to the project that "was sprung on me," Dido took total control of song selection."I had a crazy, crazy couple of weeks of putting the whole thing together. But it was really enjoyable," she said.If others wanted to provide input, it was a matter of thanks, but no thanks."I basically told everyone that they were entitled to their opinions but ... (laughs) I definitely, I was very much like I could've sent out an email saying, 'You're very welcome to tell me what you want on it but this is my record, so I'm choosing.' ... And I'm like, 'You know what, this feels right for me, so I trust my instincts on it.' "While her calming, inspirational voice shines on tracks such as "Here With Me" and "Thank You," Dido revealed that she was a late bloomer when it came to singing."I don't remember a time not playing music," she said. "Like my earliest memories are from being at primary school playing recorder, playing music, and just running upstairs when I got home from school to practice. That's just all I wanted to do."It's easy to understand why she never took a voice lesson, but to this day the perfectionist in Dido still thinks, "Maybe I should."That's hard to believe, especially after hearing her innate gift, those golden pipes that don't require any fine-tuning.Singing publicly for the first time as a 17-year-old at the boys school she attended, Dido recalled it was a risky move to perform "Summertime" and "Cry Me a River" with a jazz band and thought, "I was channeling Ella Fitzgerald."Dido went in another direction, and apparently made a few side trips to the Fountain of Youth. Now, nearly 25 years later (her 42nd birthday is on Christmas Day), she is raising another musician whose initial inkling is to play music, not sing it.Like mother, like son."He's an insane drummer," Dido joyously said about her 2-year-old Stanley with husband Rohan Gavin, a British writer who she said is also a great musician.Since both parents learned to play music early in life, her son "is probably getting a little bit of that passed down through the DNA." But Stanley's passion even amazes her."He just doesn't stop. ... Since the moment he could move his hands, he hasn't stopped drumming," Dido said. "He won't even let me on the drum kit. So I've never been able to show him how to drum because he always grabs the sticks and just sits there. ... Everything's a drum. Like every single piece of furniture, every toy eventually becomes a drum and he just loves it. ..."It's so sweet to watch. You know what? He'll probably forget all about it when he's 4, but right now I think that's one of his huge pleasures in life."For Dido, her little drummer boy undoubtedly is delivering the greatest hits of them all.Dido publicity photos by Guy Aroch/RCA Records.
Wander down Upper Street in Islington, north London, or pop into the local Waitrose and you never know, you might just bump into a pop superstar. Dido, with 38 million album sales and a Greatest Hits album coming out this week, is one of the biggest-selling artists of the 21st century, but mansions, private planes and entourages are not her thing. Even now, 14 years since she shot to fame with the album No Angel, Dido is still demure and softly spoken. She’s 41 but looks ten years younger, more like a teenager in fact, as she fiddles with her necklace, her black nail polish chipped. What’s changed is that she’s found peace of mind. She’s married to novelist Rohan Gavin, son of children’s writer Jamila Gavin, they have a two-year-old son Stanley, and she’s determined to live an ordinary life.Stanley loves shopping, going round the aisles, holding the bags of salad,’ she says. ‘I don’t want a life that’s so different from everybody else’s, where I don’t have all my friends and family around me.’Stanley thinks Mummy only performs for him, and when her band comes over to rehearse he thinks he’s one of them. When she asked Stanley what does Daddy do, earlier on the day we met, he replied, ‘He writes books’. ‘When I asked what does Mummy do when she’s working, he looked a bit thoughtful as if to say, “She works?†Then he said, “Mummy eats books.†I thought, “Where are you even getting that? What have I been doing?â€â€™Dido has actually been devouring books all her life, coming from a literary family. Her late father William Armstrong was managing director of publishers Sidgwick & Jackson and her mother Clare is a poet. Christened Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O’Malley Armstrong – though she became known by the family as Dido after the tragic Queen of Carthage – she understandably preferred to call herself the more commonplace Clare, after her mother. More...‘I’m sure my mum feels quite proud of her name choice now, but it wasn’t fun as a kid. You don’t need more reason to feel a bit isolated. It’s hard enough being a kid.’Her bohemian mother didn’t like Dido and her brother Rollo (who went on to become one of the band Faithless) having friends around and there was no TV or stereo in the house, though plenty of books. They felt like outsiders growing up, but Dido feels this left them with a rich legacy.‘What Rollo and I do have from our childhood is a real ability to be on our own, using our imaginations to create our own fun. We both love reading and creating things, so whatever our parents did, it worked, whether it was intentional or not. Having not seen Eminem for eight years, Dido got an unexpected call from his people earlier this year asking if she would like to perform Stan with him at the Reading and Leeds Festivals (pictured in 2000)Having not seen Eminem for eight years, Dido got an unexpected call from his people earlier this year asking if she would like to perform Stan with him at the Reading and Leeds Festivals (pictured in 2000)‘As a kid and a teenager I desperately wanted to fit in, I never felt quite like I did. You have to be a rebel in some way growing up and I was quite a difficult teenager. In pictures of me then I’m a bit scowly, I had really dark gothy hair. It wasn’t about looking good, I did not look good, but I thought I was cool and kept it up the whole time.'You couldn’t be all smiley and happy. But whatever got me here I feel lucky to have had. I’ve always lived like that. I don’t ever look back and regret things because I think, “Am I happy now? Is it good now? Yes.â€â€™Dido’s background was in classical music. She went for lessons at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music in London, played violin and piano and toured Europe in a classical music ensemble. She dreamt of becoming a concert pianist until she realised she’d never be good enough. After her A-levels she worked at a leading literary agents while studying law at night. ‘I don’t know why I picked law. I just wanted to use my brain in some way. It didn’t last long. I was just trying to work out what I wanted to do. Music was a hobby and didn’t seem like a realistic thing. I was in a band and we did gigs. I’d do sessions that were advertised in the back of music magazines. Dreadful.’She was emotionally fragile in those early days. She suffered panic attacks after signing with song publishers in October 1996. In her head she thought she’d signed away the most personal part of herself, the solace her songs brought her. ‘Music had been my only refuge, the one solid thing in my life that I would go to if I was happy or sad. It was the way I expressed myself. On signing a deal most people would go out and party, but I thought, “Oh no!†I felt I’d given the one uncontaminated piece of my life away. But I got over it.’Her music came to the attention of American hit maker Clive Davis, who nurtured Whitney Houston’s career, and later record executive LA Reid, who went on to become a judge on American X Factor. Despite both men’s reputations as tough operators they were sensitive to her fragile talent and it took several years before she was ready to face the public. The result was the 1999 album No Angel, which she took on a three-year tour round America and went on to sell 21 million copies. ‘I was probably a lot more fragile when I started out in my career. I’m a way more confident person than I was. Part of that is getting older. Turning 40 you get this wave of acceptance'After its release she was surprised to receive a letter from notorious rapper Eminem requesting permission to use part of her song Thank You in his song Stan. She agreed and the song helped make her a star. Having not seen Eminem for eight years, Dido got an unexpected call from his people earlier this year asking if she would like to perform Stan with him at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in the summer. ‘I kept it totally quiet and we just rocked up on the night. The crowds were unbelievable. They worked out who it was pretty quickly.’Despite the trauma of signing that earlier publishing deal, she found fame a comfortable fit, largely because she couldn’t comprehend how famous she had become.‘In a funny way it was less hard to get used to fame than signing the publishing deal because I wasn’t properly aware of it. By the time things kicked off with the record I was on a tour that lasted three years, so you’re not aware of what’s going on in the real world. 'You’re in this pretty cool place where you get up, get on the bus and do your show. It wasn’t until I came home that I realised what had happened. There were little moments that made me realise it, like a journalist turning up at my mum’s house. I think I’ve been treated incredibly respectfully, which I’m thankful for. But I don’t have anything to hide, it’s all in my music anyway.’She is still as passionate about her music and is working on new material, but everything is subservient to her role as a mum. Stanley, whose name has nothing to do with the Eminem song, has also helped her bond with her own mother. When Dido was 15 or 16 – she can’t quite remember which – she moved away from home because of their difficult relationship. She once said, ‘It was just hard for us to live in the same house as each other.’ She laughs, perhaps with a twinge of embarrassment, at the recollection and lays the blame on herself. ‘I probably wasn’t the best company. But now we have wonderful chats. She’s one of my favourite people to talk to.’ They now live round the corner from each other. ‘She’s an amazing person, scarily intelligent, brilliant company and a revelation as a grandmother. The love and happi- ness on Stanley’s face when she comes around the corner – I wouldn’t lose that for the world.’Dido was very close to her father, who died in 2006 after a long illness. Her debut single Here With Me was written the night she came home from the hospital when he was first taken seriously ill, and she was at his bedside singing his favourite song, The Dubliners’ Raglan Road, as he lay dying. The lyrics, written by poet Patrick Kavanagh, were about William’s aunt Hilda O’Malley. ‘Dad played me that song when I was young. It was a song we both had a huge connection with, and I sang it to him all the time when he was ill.’ She wrote the song Grafton Street on her 2008 album Safe Trip Home, based on Raglan Road, as a tribute to her father. ‘My love I know we’re losing but I will stand here by you,’ she wrote.Dido’s personality has been transformed over the years. She exudes contentment, though not in a smug way. She’s simply found her centre of gravity. ‘I was probably a lot more fragile when I started out in my career. I’m a way more confident person than I was. Part of that is getting older. Turning 40 you get this wave of acceptance.'I feel like I’ve got it now. I don’t mind not being liked, that’s what it is. It’s taken me a good 20 years to spot that. Half my career is based on wanting to be liked but you get to the stage where you think, “I’m not going to be liked by everybody and I’m OK with it.†As long as the people I love want me back.’
Following the release of her best-of collection this week on RCA, Dido is officially out of her record contract and a free agent.“I’m like an overexcited kid,†the British singer/songwriter tells HitFix. “I have so many ideas. ‘I can do this, I can do that.’ I’m like ‘take a breath’.â€More about what’s next for Dido a little later, but first she spent a few minutes looking back with us over her nearly 15-year career covered on “Greatest Hits,†a compilation of all her singles from her 1999 debut, “ No Angel,†on. Among the selections are “Here With Me,†“Thank You,†“White Flag,†“Life for Rent,†and Eminem’s “Stan,†which samples “Thank You,†and helped catapult Dido to stardom.She listened to the album from start to finish while mastering the project. “It was this crazy, emotional 15-year diary in an hour,†she says. “When you write a song, you’re so clear about where you were and what you were feeling, even more so than when I see a picture. I have such clear memories.†As often happens, the songs take different meaning and shapes as life progresses. “Everything to Lose,†originally featured on the 2010 “Sex and the City 2†soundtrack, “is probably more relevant now,†Dido says. “When you do finally really fall in love, having a kid, and having the fear†of losing it all.Indeed, the birth of her son in 2011 has changed the prism through which she views life. “I’m a more emotional person since having Stanley. I was never the big cry person. Now I’ll be in the cinema and I start crying. I was crying at ‘Philomena’ 10 minutes in. My husband was like, ‘Are you alright?’ So any of these songs that are emotional, I feel it all bigger because of Stanley. It opens up a part of you.†The collection includes a new track, “NYC.†Though written recently, it is about an era, pre-1999, when everything was still possible for her, including failure. “It’s about a time back at the very beginning when I came to New York City with the words of my brother ringing in my head: ‘This is probably not going to happen for you, but good luck’.â€Even after all her success —she’s sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and garnered an Oscar nod for “If I Rise†from “127 Hoursâ€â€”the uncertainty remains. And she’s fine with that. “I’m still unsure of where the road ahead goes,†she says. “I’ll always be that person. I feel more comfortable not knowing. I crave those feelings. There’s room for magic to happen.†While being without a record contract would strike fear in some, for Dido, it strikes a sense of possibility where music dictates every decision. “You can just put music out. For me that’s extremely exciting,†she says. “Sometimes [on a label] I feel like you make things and you have to wait for ages and you just play this big waiting game. Now, you can do this project here and that project there. It’s dictated by what you’re doing creatively.†She’s coy about what’s next as she has material now that is taking her in two “extremely different ways,†and she hasn’t chosen which path to take yet. “It all becomes about the music and that’s the world I live in.â€
You won’t find a pop star more down-to-earth than Dido. Even though she remains one of the biggest-selling artists of all time, she has a remarkable talent for staying under the radar. Taking some time out to have her son Stanley, now two, helped with that, but Dido reckons she’s always led a low-key life. “It’s really cool,†smiles the 41-year-old singer. “Because my face wasn’t on the first or third albums, I’ve managed to keep it hidden. For a long time people thought I was a Swedish band.†And when she does get recognised, the fans, she says, are always lovely. “It’s amazing being somewhere in the world you’ve never gone to before when someone comes up and sings your song at you. I think the most random incident was when I was in Ethiopia with Oxfam and the guys driving us started singing Thank You. It was insane. I also remember being in a teeny place in Thailand and walking past this woman singing one of my songs in a hotel bar. In those moments you get this rush, where you can’t quite comprehend how far it’s spread. You feel welcome anywhere and all because of music, which is amazing.†Dido began to get noticed back in 1998 when her first single Here With Me was used as the theme music for the US science fiction programme Roswell. Then her second single, Thank You, featured in the Gwyneth Paltrow film Sliding Doors later that year. Dido’s debut album No Angel was released in 1999 but it was the following year that her career skyrocketed when Thank You was sampled by Eminem in the rapper’s hit single Stan. Suddenly her music was reaching a whole new audience. No Angel was re-released in 2001 and remains – along with her second album Life for Rent – one of the UK’s biggest sellers. So how much does she owe to Eminem?“Oh loads,†she concedes. “Stan was just so out of the blue. I remember first hearing it, sitting in a hotel room in New York and I thought, ‘Wow, this is just brilliant’ – I was so blown away by the rap on it. I was doing pretty well in America anyway, so I thought things would be solid, but it just went stratospheric at that point. My life was changed 100 per cent.â€But Dido herself stayed remarkably the same. How does she do it?“I’ve never really struggled with fame, maybe because I’ve never gone out seeking it,†she reasons, pointing out that she’s kept all her old friends over the years, but “made lots of new ones, too.†Some of those friends are in pretty high places. As well as collaborating with Eminem – they shared a stage again at this year’s Reading and Leeds Festival – Dido has teamed up with the likes of Annie Lennox, Brian Eno and Sting (“I was so starstruck – I was such a big Police fan and he was really coolâ€). But one of her biggest career highlights, she says, has been working with her elder brother Rollo. A music producer and founder-member of the band Faithless, he has also contributed heavily to his sister’s back catalogue over the years, co-writing and producing tracks on all her albums. “Working with my brother has just been brilliant,†she beams. “We’ve had our fights but always about music, never about anything else. Our values are really similar and we like the same music. We’ve just got closer and closer.†Born Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong on Christmas Day 1971, the girl who would be Dido was blessed with a creative environment from the start. Her father William ran the literary publishing house Sidgwick & Jackson, while her mother Clare is a poet. And the Armstrong artistic tradition looks set to continue. Dido’s husband of three years, Rohan Gavin, is a screenwriter and novelist, while little Stanley is already muscling in on Mum’s band rehearsals.“He’s obsessed with drumming and his keyboard. He walks around carrying it wherever we go and just starts playing,†she laughs. “He loves it when the guys come round to rehearse and he truly believes he’s in the band now. He gets his serious face on and he bangs the drums and cymbals while we play. I don’t know where he learnt to do that, but he won’t let anyone else on his drum kit – it’s his most precious possession. Dido is now working on her music againI’m in the middle of writing an album of original material and it took me a while to get back in to it after Stanley was born just because I was so focused on him and my husbandDido admits that having a baby affected her song-writing, and that as a parent she now looks for different inspirations.“I’m in the middle of writing an album of original material and it took me a while to get back in to it after Stanley was born just because I was so focused on him and my husband,†she reveals. “You get so involved in the minutiae of daily life and being a family, which is so important to me. Plus for a while you have a head full of nursery rhymes and they’re not the things you want to write songs about.â€The singer has also been busy assembling a greatest hits album, an 18-track compilation covering her multi-platinum career. “I’ve never really looked back before because I’m always writing new songs and moving forward,†she says. “So it was quite emotional putting the album together. The memories came flooding back – I remember everything around every song I’ve written, even what I was wearing at the time. The album is chronological too, so it’s like this crazy 15-year diary of my life compressed into an hour and 10 minutes.â€She concedes that the music industry has moved on a lot in that time and, for the most part, she’s glad that she’s not starting out in it today.“It’s changed massively – in good and bad ways,†she reckons. “I had so much support from my record company and really got to build up my confidence. There’s not the same patience now – people need to be doing well quicker – but then it’s amazing that you can write a song, put it up on the internet and the next day people hear it. That’s utterly liberating.†So what does she think of the current glut of TV talent shows?“You can find a great singer anywhere,†she says. “You might walk past someone busking, or see someone on The X Factor or an advert and think they’re amazing. The simple fact is, if someone gives you chills and moves you, then their voice is worth listening to.â€Dido did some mentoring on The Voice earlier this year – a role that she’s happy to return to – but you’ll never catch her on a judging panel.“Music, for me, isn’t a competition so I find the whole concept of judging really funny,†she admits. “I really enjoyed mentoring on The Voice – the contestants were amazing and it’s quite a challenge. I was like, ‘God, I wouldn’t do this!’ I don’t think I would have had the confidence to perform on live TV in front of so many people – and I’m in total awe of some of the amazing artists I’ve met who are so young but totally poised.â€We’re likely to see more of Dido’s backstage talents – she has already penned songs for numerous artists, including Britney Spears, and says she’d like to do more of the same as she gets older. “I love working with other people’s voices,†she says, “and I’m always wanting to write a better song. When I wake up that will always be in the back of my mind. But Stanley comes first, it’s that simple.†To that end, she is now focused on planning a festive family get-together. “Everyone will be here for Christmas – cousins included – and it’s the first year Stanley will know what’s happening. He’s already getting excited, although I don’t think he realises it’s mummy’s birthday too – that might take a few years. But I’m really looking forward to it. Everything just seems so much more exciting and fun with a baby around.†Dido’s Greatest Hits is out now. Visit www.didomusic.com for details.
Hace algunas semanas Dido realizó una entrevista en la radio británica, Spire FM, para promocionar su Greatest Hits. Ahora contamos con el audio de dicha entrevista
Dido told me: “Lily is a genius, I love it, it’s a sweet John Lewis advert one day and then another song that made me really laugh the next.“I’ve got a lot of respect for her. She’s clever and funny, but at the end of the day she has got a lovely, lovely voice.â€Lily’s satirical video for Hard Out There, which pokes fun at misogynistic pop stars, has been criticised but Dido, 41, can see through the furore.She said: “I haven’t kept up with what’s going on in terms of the video but it’s good she’s making people think with a positive message. I listen to it again and again.â€Reflecting on her own videos Dido said: “I don’t really watch them. For me it’s about songs and singers, but I suppose I did push the video envelope by being in a bath once.â€Dido’s career is celebrated with a new Greatest Hits album – out now – and she’s more than happy to look back on her work.She mused: “It’s a diary of my life for the last 15 years and it was nostalgic putting it together.“White Flag is a great song to sing and I love the reaction it gets live to this day. Grafton Street is my most emotional moment, about my dad. That still makes me cry.â€Although much has changed during her career, Dido, picturÂed right, remains positive about the state of the music industry.She explained: “Ultimately the same things still matter – singers and songs.“Take someone like Adele – she’s an amazing singer, writes beautiful songs.â€And the Greatest Hits doesn’t spell the end for Dido, far from it.She added: “I’m working on new stuff. I love a lot of electronic music and dance music, and also hip hop. But I also love folk music.“There’s always a thing in my head questioning where the song should go, so I tend to let the song dictate where it goes.â€
